BREWER – It takes a lot to keep runners away from the Turkey Trot.

Just ask any of the 436 finishers of the 20th annual 5-kilometer road race, held Nov. 18 at Brewer High School. Or ask any of the 80 children who completed the Kids’ Mile Run.

Runners like Glendon Rand of Orrington, the Brewer High cross-country and assistant outdoor track coach who completed his 20th Turkey Trot just eight weeks after knee surgery.

Or the Holyoke family of Brewer, which had three generations of runners toe the starting line.

Or 13-year-old Brendan Carr of Brewer, who won the Kids’ Mile Run in 5 minutes, 46 seconds – and then was so enthusiastic that he jumped in the 5K race and finished that in 21:39.

Or the Kenney brothers of Bangor, Nick and Sam, who look forward to the event all year long. Eight-year-old Nick, who ran with an irrepressible smile spread across his face, didn’t let cerebral palsy keep him from striving to do his best.

The Turkey Trot has become a can’t-miss event both for competitive and recreational runners in the local area. It also draws a strong contingent of runners from northern Maine and Down East.

Runners praise the race for its tight organization and stockpile of prizes. Overall and age-group winners were awarded turkeys – 50 birds were distributed this year – and there were 126 winners in a random drawing for prizes ranging from a voucher for a sports massage to gift certificates for restaurants to boxes of cereal. Local businesses donated the prizes for the race, which is a fund-raiser for the Brewer High sophomore class.

It is also the last event in the 11-race Saucony/Sub 5 Road Race Series.

When Nick Kenney crossed the line in the Kids’ Mile Run, he embraced 4-year-old Sam at the end of the finishing chute.

The boys’ parents, John Kenney and Mari Sue Shuiling, said Nick and Sam ran the race last year and have been talking about running it again ever since.

“I’m happy. It was my goal to run faster,” Nick said.

“My goal was the same thing,” Sam agreed.

John Kenney and Shuiling both run themselves – Kenney completed the 5K in 24:18. They keep coming back to the Turkey Trot, they said, because of its festive, family atmosphere.

Rand is one of only two runners to have participated in all 20 Turkey Trots. Bill Pinkham of Lamoine also has run all 20. Race director Dave Jeffrey presented Rand and Pinkham with gift certificates and a “lifetime pass” to the race in recognition of their dedication.

Rand, then a member of the University of Maine cross-country team, won the first-ever Turkey Trot.

“A bunch of us [UMaine runners] just came down to try to win turkeys for a post-season get-together,” Rand said.

Rand joked that although he won the first race in the same time “as I went through the first mile today,” he was glad just to be able to put one foot in front of the other.

He only received permission from his doctor to run two weeks ago after having surgery to repair torn cartilage.

Vaughn Holyoke of Brewer, who is 67, said he felt privileged to be able to run the race with both his son, Glen, 39, and his grandson, Paul, who celebrated his 12th birthday last week.

“We talked about running together [as three generations] before the race, and Glen said to Paul, ‘This doesn’t mean much to you now, but in 40 years it will,'” Vaughn Holyoke said.

Vaughn Holyoke organized the first Turkey Trot along with Jerry Ellis of Bangor. Holyoke’s daughter was a sophomore at Brewer at the time, and Ellis’ wife was the sophomore class adviser.

Glen Holyoke began running as a freshman at Brewer, and in the 25 years since he has trained frequently with his father. On some runs they pushed each other to their physical limits, but on other runs they slowed the pace to discuss problems or simply enjoy each other’s company.

Glen and Paul Holyoke currently live in Holden, but next year they will move to a new house in Brewer. Glen Holyoke said he hopes that will provide the opportunity for the three generations to train together.

“Running has been a comfortable place for us to share ideas, to converse about family and all those important things,” he said. “I hope to pass that along to my son.”

Paul Holyoke seems eager to accept his elders’ help. Vaughn has been his cross-country coach at Holbrook Middle School, and next year Glen will be his coach at Brewer Middle School. Paul said their presence was vital to helping him finish his first 5K.

“It was pretty tough, but I could do it with my grandfather and my dad running right beside me,” he said. It was also the first time Carr, an eighth-grader at Brewer Middle School, competed in the Turkey Trot.

He said he had heard about the race from other runners. And he wanted to test himself in both races – to go for the win in the 1 mile, and to see if he could run faster than some high school students in the 5K.

Carr succeeded on both counts, though he said it was difficult to come back in the 5K after racing the mile. But the race lived up to his expectations.

“It’s a fun way to spend a weekend,” he said. “I’ll definitely be back next year.”

Vaughn Holyoke praised Jeffrey, who became the race director several years after Holyoke and Ellis started the race, for attracting runners to the event.

“This is a well-run race, year after year. Runners don’t go back to lousy-run races,” Holyoke said.

Rand agreed.

“Anything that Dave Jeffrey takes over turns into a grand affair. It’s no surprise, really, that the race is so popular. He really works hard at it,” Rand says.

And Jeffrey wouldn’t have it any other way – even if it means devoting hours to organization and fund raising.

“I’m kind of a perfectionist,” he admitted, gazing around the Brewer High gymnasium as hundreds of runners made their way out after he had conducted the awards ceremony. “But I’m wiped out now.”

Jeffrey, a special education teacher, has been Brewer’s sophomore class adviser for the last 10 years. He praised a core group of 10-15 sophomore volunteers for their work.

The students not only offered their services on race day, helping to set up the course, registering runners and distributing prizes, but they also invested time before the race soliciting businesses for donations.

“They really learn about working together,” he said. “It’s great for [students] to experience all those aspects [of organizing the race],” Jeffrey said.

Jeffrey estimated that the race raised about $3,500.

The winners of the 5K race were Gerry Clapper (15:53) and Vanessa McGowan (18:34). Carr (5:46) and Felicia Muncey (6:45) were tops in the Kids’ Mile Run.

Ben Ray (16:01) was second in the men’s 5K, followed by Judson Cake (16:02), Bob Hepler (16:08) and Andy Goupee (16:22). In the women’s race, Gladys Ganiel (18:47), Cassie Hintz (19:07), Lara Rand (19:10) and Katie Laverdiere (19:14) rounded out the top five.